How does a tub diverter spout send water up to the shower?
plumbing - Bath tub spout rough in - Home Improvement Stack Exchange
What causes the water to come out of the tub spout like this when the shower is on? And is it an easy fix for someone who is plumbing clueless? Thanks
converting tub spout diverter to handle diverter
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How does it work? The slider rides very loosely. The slider has a recess that captures a rubber "cup" the cup has a hole in it. Why does the slider and cup get pulled against the spout bulkhead rather than be pushed away? Is there a moving part in the rough-in that moves and directs water up to the shower when I pull up the diverter handle.
My spout was letting too much water dribble/leak out when the slider was up and water was diverted up to the shower. My repair was to place an o-ring inside the cup. The spout still dribbles, but much less.
According to the installation manual for the spout, the nipple for the spout should be installed a min of 3/8" to a max of 3/4" past the finished wall. There is a pipe adapter that you screw onto the nipple. The spout slides over this adaptor and is set in place with a set screw located on the bottom. This allows for the correct orientation of the spout.
The hole for the spout through the tile and back board should be about 1/4" to 1/2" larger than the nipple diameter allowing for an 1/8" to 1/4" gap between the nipple and the tile.
There should be installation instructions for the diverter valve that will include the vertical location of the valve relative to the spout, as well as the set back distance in the wall. There is usually a plastic over on the diverter valve that is to be set flush with the finished wall. This cover also provides the opening required for the valve. Check the diverter valve instructions.
Use a DROP-EAR elbow and provide some framing to screw it to, please.
How far past the tile surface - how deep is the spout when you get to threads? 1/2" US pipe thread is supposed to be tight when engaged 1/2", so add 1/2" to that. To provide room for another turn if needed and caulking, perhaps another 1/8" beyond THAT.
How small the hole - I like just big enough for the pipe, acceptable ranges from there up to just smaller than the back of the spout. Just enough for the pipe (or within 1/8") allows you to double up on caulking - caulk the hole around the pipe AND caulk the back of the spout (but leave a gap/weep hole under the bottom of the spout) - if there is a shower, this area is a prime one for leaks, so sealing it well is good.
How to get the spout vertical? As with anything else involving pipe threads and alignment, by judging whether you can get one more turn or not every time it's vertical, and stopping when you don't think you can. If you mis-judge, take it off, redope, and try again. IME, teflon dope beats teflon tape here...